Troubled Waters
by bluedragon03
Summary: Lucy Heartfilia, Captain of the Heartfilia Private Navy, has only one goal. She want's to escape Pirate Captain Natsu Dragneel and export her father's goods without any harm coming to her crew. Natsu Dragneel has only one mission. To take down the evil Heartfilias, and stop them from funding an enemy nation's attempt to bring war to Fiore. But perhaps Lucy isn't who he thought.
1. Chapter 1

***A/N- Welcome to my Pirate AU, Trouble Waters! (Part one of the "Stormy Seas" series) I sincerely hope you like it!**

 **x**

"What do you want to do, Captain?"

Lucy heartfilia stood on the end of the dock, her outline dark against the cloudy sky as she watched the storm roll into the bay. She didn't respond at first, instead inspecting the rolling clouds that were a mirror of the tossing waves below. The sky was dark, visibility was low. There would be a storm tonight, and from the looks of things, it was going to be a bad one. She'd have to be insane to sail out into this.

It would be dangerous, but then again, so was the person waiting for her on the other side of this storm. The person that was no doubt lurking out there somewhere, waiting for her to make a move. If she waited for perfect visibility then there would be no escape from him, he would have the same advantages as she did. She had to decide which threat posed more danger to herself and her crew. She shifted, and the long wounds on her back twinged painfully. She knew what she had to do.

"We set sail tonight. Ready the ship."

 **~*Cloudburst*~**

"Natsu, we need to know your orders," Erza said. Natsu stood at the bow of the ship, watching the mouth of the bay carefully. What would she do? Would she sail into the storm or would she wait it out? "Natsu?" Erza repeated. Natsu ignored her and took his time replying while Erza waited impatiently for his answer.

"She'll be sailing into the storm, so we're going to follow her."

"She'd have to be a fool to sail into this, Natsu," Erza said pointedly.

"Oh she's no fool," Natsu murmured. "She's brilliant, but desperate to get this shipment through after we foiled her last attempt. She's going to sail into the storm in an attempt to escape me, but it won't work."

Behind Natsu's back Erza nodded solemnly and strode away to convey his orders the the crew.

 **~*Ionosphere*~**

"We can't!" Levy cried. Lucy turned to face her, her face set in determination.

"We have to," Lucy replied. "It's the only way to escape him."

"Escaping him won't matter if we get ourselves killed in the storm!"

"I'd rather risk sailing into a hurricane than risk another nautical battle with Dragneel, I shouldn't need to remind you last time we crossed fire with him we lost a dozen people." Levy sighed, no she didn't need to be reminded, she was the one who had to help Wendy tend to Lucy's still healing wounds.

"But this storm could sink us!"

"So could he!" Lucy exclaimed, "and as far as I know Mother Nature has no personal grudge against the Heartfilia Private Navy and Trading Company. Natsu Dragneel has a vendetta against us and will stop at nothing to take us down."

"So who says he won't sail into this storm after you, then?" Levy asked.

"Even that filthy pirate has a code, he won't endanger the lives of his crew just for me. Like you said, this storm could sink us, sailing into it is practically suicide."

"You say that yet you'll still risk it?"

"We have the best crew in the seven seas, Levy, we can make it through this storm, I have faith in us."

"Alright, but what if you're wrong? What if Dragneel follows us into the storm? He has an excellent crew as well."

"It will be far easier to escape from him in this low visibility." Levy couldn't argue with that. As long as they had a few hundred feet on the pirate crew, they would be virtually invisible. Levy took one last look at Lucy's determined face and sighed, knowing the decision was made.

"Alright, I'll alert the support crews to ready the guard vessels."

"No," Lucy said, "tonight the Heartfilia command vessel sails alone."

"But Lucy-"

"It will be easier to escape him if we don't have other ships slowing us down. All of the merchandise is stored on our vessel, if we make a clean getaway then the trade will be successful." Lucy strode down the dock to her ship and began barking orders as soon as she was within earshot. Her crew began scrambling around, a few of them calling out questions just like Levy's.

"We will be setting sail tonight. I want all animals shut up in my office, and all cargo and loose objects to be moved below decks, is that clear?"

"Yes ma'am," the crew replied. Lucy made her way to the wheel to observe her crew working.

"Are you sure?" A low voice asked at her shoulder. She glanced over her shoulder at Jellal, one of her advisors that shared the title of second in command with Loke, who was also approaching them, looking concerned.

"Lucy I don't know if this is a good idea, I've just spoken to Wendy and she said that this is likely to be the worst storm she's ever seen." Lucy sighed, and cast another look at the sky.

"We've already been at this bay for too long, Dragneel could be here any day, if he already isn't out there hiding somewhere waiting for us to leave. There's an island that my father owns not far from here, no one lives there, no one knows about it. We should be safe there. We just have to get out of here." The boys nodded and left. Lucy left her position at the wheel to climb up to the crow's nest to see Wendy.

"Lucy, did Loke tell you? I don't think sailing right now is a good idea."

"Yes, Loke told me, but we have to go no or risk another battle with Dragneel."

"But Lucy," Wendy said, "this storm, I've never felt anything like it before. It's wilder, more dangerous, like a sleeping monster just starting to wake up."

"Is there magic in it? Are your mother's people behind it?" Wendy shook her head.

"That's what worries me, Lucy, there's magic in it, but I don't think the mermaids are fueling this storm, it's more like they're trying to tame it. It scares them too, and I don't think they'll be able to control it."

"Can you tell how long it will be until the storm starts?" Wendy paused and closed her eyes, taking deep, slow breaths. Lucy waited patiently for her to finish. Since Wendy was only a child she had yet to gain complete control over her considerable power as a child of the Tempesta Clan, though what she was already able to do was incredible.

"An hour, two if we're lucky."

"And is there anything you can do to delay it a little longer?"

"I might could try to disperse the clouds with some wind, but I'm still not powerful enough to clear the sky."

"That's alright, because even if you could I wouldn't want you too. Just hold off on that for now, wait until I give the order to disperse the clouds, and until then just keep our sails full, but don't stress yourself too much, I'm going to put Juvia and Aquarius on tides."

"Both of them?" Wendy asked, incredulous. It wasn't often Lucy asked them both to manipulate the tides at once, usually they took turns. Lucy nodded.

"We need to clear the worst of this storm as soon as possible." Wendy nodded and turned her attention back to the sky, looking anxious.

"I'll let you know if there are any changes," Wendy said. Lucy nodded and began climbing back down to the deck, searching below her for the two heads full of long blue hair.

She found both of them standing at the stern, looking determined.

"Good, you're both already out here," Lucy began.

"I assumed that you would want both of us working to keep us on track during this storm," Juvia said.

"You were right," Lucy said. "But I'm changing our destination. There is a deserted island that my father owns to the east of here, Aquarius, do you know it?"

"Yes."

"I want to go there. We should be safe there during the storm." The girls nodded.

"I will follow Aquarius's lead on this one," Juvia said.

"Good, I'm really counting on you guys. Wendy says we have an hour, two at most, so we need to get there as fast as possible." They nodded again, and Lucy returned to the wheel, pleased when she saw that they were now ready to leave.

"Alright everyone!" Lucy cried. All eyes turned to her, "we need to get out of this bay and onto the open water as quickly as possible! Let's get moving!"

 **~*Wind Shear*~**

"Are you sure that she's going to be sailing?" Gray asked, looking skeptical, "From what I've seen of her there's no way that she'd be stupid enough to go out into this mess."

"Are you callin' me stupid, Ice Princess?" Natsu asked testily.

"Maybe I am, you stupid pyro!" Gray snapped.

"That's enough!" Erza ordered. "This is no time for you two to be fighting like children. If Natsu says that Heartfilia is going to be sailing into the storm then I believe him, you know he has a sixth sense about her." Gray grumbled something, but returned to his position. Erza rolled her eyes. She knew while those two argued often and pretended to hate each other they were actually quite close and would be very upset if something happened to the other one.

Natsu took his place at the wheel and looked over his crew, who were all preparing to sail. He could smell the storm in the air, and knew that it was going to be bad, but he had faith that his crew would pull this off. They were the best in the seven seas afterall. There was no way they'd let a dumb old storm get the better of them.

"Romeo!" He called, tilting his head back so he could look at the boy perched in the crow's nest, "be on the lookout for a ship coming out of the bay!"

"Alright!" Romeo replied.

"Alright guys listen up," Natsu called, "today's the day that we are going to finally take down the Heartfilia trading company for good! I want this ship ready to make chase at a moment's notice, I won't let that evil woman escape again!"

A great cheer went up from the crew and they all went back to work, securing loose objects, preparing to raise the anchor, and taking up ready positions for the chase. Natsu was determined to take out Lucy Heartfilia. Losing her, the reason her father's personal Navy was so formidable, would be a huge step in dismantling the entire corrupt organization. He'd been gunning for them ever since he'd found out that Jude Heartfilia was giving money and weapons to an enemy nation trying to organize its military to attack Fiore.

His daughter, Lucy, was the commander of the Navy and in charge of all cargo export and protection. There was no way that she was blind to her father's corruption. She had to be in on it, which made her a traitor to her country, and someone that had to be eliminated.

Natsu glared at the entrance to the bay, just waiting for Lucy's ship, the _Layla,_ to loom out ot the darkness at them. In this low visibility he couldn't afford to lose sight of her for even a second, or to fall too far behind, or she would slip out of his grasp again. Last time he'd sank one of her support vessels, and nearly took out the _Layla_ too, but she'd escaped him, much to his displeasure.

"Erza," Natsu called. She appeared out of nowhere, and he addressed her. "Tonight the _Layla_ will sail alone, unguarded, as a further attempt to outrun us."

"Are you positive, Natsu?"

"Yes," he said. "I can feel it in my bones." Erza nodded, trusting Natsu's sixth sense. It was something no one could explain, but that everyone believed in after the last few times Natsu had been _so close_ to catching Lucy. Ha had an instinct about what she would be doing, and he had never been wrong yet.

Natsu squinted into the darkness, then leaned forward. He had excellent eyesight, and was often the first person to notice things. A shape loomed in the darkness, and Natsu squinted at it's hull, looking for the name. As it continued to move he began to recognize the outline, he'd seen it many times before. He called for his crew's attention.

"There! The _Layla!_ We have to move now, we can't afford to lose her in this!" Just like that his crew was moving in double time, and the anchor was raised, and they had begun moving. They began moving slowly, too slowly. The Layla was mysteriously fast. Natsu had long since wondered if Lucy had an Amnis on her side. It certainly seemed so when she was speeding away from him at an unreasonable pace.

"Get the oars!" Natsu cried angrily, "We're losing her!"

The rowing team, the biggest men and women he hand with the most stamina rushed below decks and got ready. He heard the oars splash into the water a little after that and they began to pick up speed. They were gaining on the _Layla_ now. He could now clearly make out the name painted on the back of the ship. It was an intense few minutes where Natsu was waiting on them to get within firing range.

"Fire at will!" Natsu cried, and a few moments later the first cannon fired, striking the water mere yards from the ship.

 **~*Vorticity*~**

"He was there the whole time waiting on us!" Loke cried. Cannon fire sounded, and a canon splashed the water near their ship.

"What do we do?" Gajeel cried. "We ain't got canons on the back of the ship!"

"First off, remind me to tell father to make that happen!" Lucy shouted. Gajeel half laughed, but overall looked too concerned to crack a sarcastic joke back.

"Juvia, Aquarius, are you giving it all you've got?" She asked, glancing over her shoulder at the two women who were holding hands and appeared to be in deep conversation.

"That's what you told us to do, isn't it?" Aquarius snapped.

"Wendy?" Lucy shouted. The girls head popped over the side of the crows nest and looked down at her.

"Yes?"

"What's your range? Can you fill their sails with wind facing the wrong way?"

"I can try!" Wendy cried. Her head disappeared, but was replaced by her hands, wrist down, extended towards the pirate ship. Lucy turned her head to see if it was having any effect. It didn't look like it, they must be out of Wendy's range.

"Wendy, just fill our sails instead!"

"Alright!"

"Lucy, we have to turn!" It was Levy, standing off to Lucy's left, looking panicked.

"What do you mean? That will give Dragneel all the opportunity he needs to sink us!"

"If we don't turn the rocks will do it for him! I didn't know you were taking us this way! We have to turn thirty degrees to the south or we won't make it!"

"Dammit!" Lucy shouted. "Aquarius, Juvia, direct us to the South!" Lucy spun her wheel. "Prepare for battle! I want all the canons armed, and all crew prepared in case of a boarding!"

"Yes ma'am!" Everyone hurried to comply with her orders. She heard the cannons shifting and being loaded as the ship slowly began to turn. More cannons sounded from their enemy ship, all three thankfully missing.

Lucy held her breath in anticipation, waiting, waiting, waiting for their ship to be turned far enough for their canons to be aimed at the pirate ship and…"FIRE!" Lucy screeched. All at once every cannon on port side went off. The sound was deafening, and light flashed and momentarily blinded her, but the distant sound of wood shattering told her that at least one had hit it's mark. A cheer went of from her crew.

"Reload!" She cried, right as a distant explosion let her know that their enemies had fired again. The ship rocked as the air filled with the sound splintering wood. There was a scream as Lyra lost her balance and fell overboard. "LYRA!" Lucy shrieked. She didn't have to tell anyone to throw a rope for her, already three people were moving to do so.

"FIRE!" The cannons went off again, flinging the projectiles at the _Lisanna._ More wood cracking. Those had made contact as well, but it was impossible to tell how much damage they had done. The _Lisanna_ was still gaining on them, and for the first time Lucy saw why, they had put out their oars. _He must have one hell of a paddling team._

The _Lisanna_ fired back, and the boat rocked again, though no one fell overboard this time. Sagittarius was in the process of pulling Lyra over the railing. She appeared to be fine. "Sagittarius! Get your bow ready, start picking off people when they are in range! Wendy, you continue to put wind in our sails!" Sagittarius grabbed his bow from where he had dropped it when Lyra fell overboard and made his way to the bow of the boat. "Be careful not to fall off when cannons hit us! Lyra, are you alright!"

"I'm fine!" She said, once again taking up her position. _Atta girl,_ Lucy thought proudly. Truly, she had the best crew in the seven seas, and she wouldn't swap them for anything.

"Lucy, they're gaining on us!" Jellal cried.

"I am aware of that Jellal!" Lucy replied. "FIRE AT WILL!" The cannons went off again, now going continuously. Just then thunder cracked, and the sky lit up, Lucy knew they had minutes until the rain started. The wind was picking up and howling in her ears. "Wendy, the clouds!" Wendy didn't respond. The constant noise of thunder, wood breaking, and cannons firing must be drowning out her voice. "Sagittarius, get Wendy's attention!" Lucy cried. Sagittarius turned and deftly fired an arrow into the wood of the crows nest, making Wendy jump and look down. Lucy pointed at the sky and hoped that Wendy would understand. She did.

Wendy turned her hands skyward and fell to her knees, focusing all her energy in blowing the clouds away. To her surprise, she could actually see them moving how she directed them, and had an idea. She directed her hands at their pursuing vessel, and slowly, ever so slowly, the clouds began to obey.

Wendy broke into a sweat, concentrating hard. She knew she was little and couldn't do much, and she wasn't allowed to participate in battles. That was why Lucy placed her in the crow's nest. It was defensible with arrows and Wendy was in the least amount of danger here, she couldn't compete in a physical battle of strength, but she was a pretty good shot. Wendy had contented herself to pay back Lucy for saving her by providing constant wind in the sails and medical attention when it was needed for the crew, but it didn't feel like enough. She needed to do more, and this is how she could help. She could try and direct the worst of this storm on the enemies and hope mother nature would do the rest.

Lucy Watched the sky in awe as first, the clouds began to disperse, but then they started to flow towards the _Lisanna._ "Wendy, you're amazing!" Lucy cried.

Thunder crashed again, and the sky flashed so bright it was briefly almost like the sun came out again. She could now see the outline of Natsu Dragneel at the wheel of the ship, barking orders and pointing.

"They're going to try to board our ship!" Jellal cried, "Everyone get ready for battle!"

"Cut as many of the ropes as you can, don't let them get on the ship!" Loke said.

"Don't let anyone up at the crows nest, Wendy is too busy to fight anyone off!" Lucy cried.

The _Lisanna_ was nearing them, Lucy could now make out the face of the people on deck. They were all holding grappling hooks. The first of them hooked on the railing near Aquarius and Juvia. Lucy released the wheel momentarily to sever it. The ship careened in the strong wind, and every one stumbled.

Lucy staggered back to the wheel and put the ship back on course. She glanced around and was glad to see that no one had fallen overboard that time. She felt like apologizing but knew that she'd had no choice. Anyone who had boarded with that rope would have taken out the two women right next to them, and in their trance like state they were basically defenseless. She could hear Natsu shouting now, in between the canon fire.

She glared at him, every fiber of her being filled with a malice for him. How _dare_ he attack her for no reason like this. Last time he had killed twelve of her men, good people who had had families. Her father was just a trader, what had he done to earn the ire of the Fairy Tail pirate Guild?

"Dragneel!" She called. His eyes snapped to her, and his face twisted in disgust as more of his people threw grappling hooks in preparation of boarding her ship. "YOU. ARE. MINE." He grinned like he thought that was hilarious. "I'm going to make you pay for killing my crew!"

He opened his mouth to reply, but was cut off by what is most possibly the most beautiful sound Lucy had ever heard. _Siren song,_ she thought, _Lyra!_

Lucy whipped her head around to see Lyra above everyone's heads in the net to the crows nest, her mouth open wide, singing as loudly as she could. Lucy stood in awe of her as she clung to the rope facing outwards as the wind tore at her hair and dress whipping them around her body so that they writhed in time with her music. Her face was set in fierce determination, and Lucy could feel the rage and seduction in her words. _This,_ she thought, _is the true Lyra. She's not the ditsy girl she would have everyone think she is, she's a terrifying force of nature. She's a siren._

Her voice cut through the noise of the battle, carrying over the wind. The battle field stilled, the cannon fire stopped, Fairy Tail stopped moving. Even Dragneel was staring at Lyra blankly. Lucy wanted to cheer triumphantly, but she was too scared to break Lyra's spell. Lyra sang all the time, she used her powers as a half siren to relax the crew during times of stress, and comfort them during times of loss, but this was the first time Lucy had heard her using her voice to do what it was meant for, enchant people. For the first time Lucy understood the legends of men and women following sirens to their deaths. There was magic woven into the very words Lyra was speaking, and powerful magic.

It spoke to her skill that for the most part Lucy's crew was unaffected, which meant Lyra had a great deal of control over her voice, which made sense. Unlike Wendy, she had been raised by her mother's people, the Sirens, and had been taught by the best of the best. She had the skills to back up her considerable power. She cast Lucy a look that seemed to say _do it now._

"Wendy, fill the sails! Juvia, Aquarius, push the _Lisanna_ away from us!"

Lucy glanced back over at Natsu and saw him shaking his head like he was shaking off the spell, but she felt more magic crackle through the air and he fell under Lyra's spell again.

Lyra was exerting every atom of energy she had, focusing it all on the Fairy Tail crew, filling their minds with a pleasant haze. _Stop what you are doing, relax, join me, everything is going to be alright. Drop that heavy thing you are holding and rest! Don't worry about the fight, it doesn't matter. Nothing matters but my voice. Focus on my voice._ Lyra poured every fiber of her being into her siren song. She'd always been strong, and she'd always had talent, but this was her first time wielding power like this. She had an entire crew at her command, she could make them do whatever she wanted as long as they were in earshot.

 _Wouldn't it be better,_ she thought, _wouldn't our lives be much easier if they all...drowned in this storm? I could massacre this entire crew with a word, and then Lucy's troubles would sink beneath the waves with them._ But no, another voice in her head said. That's not what Lucy would want. Lucy wouldn't want you to kill all those people for her, just because you can. No. That's not what this crew do.

 _Calm,_ she sang, in the tongue of her people. _Stay calm. Relax. There's no reason to fight._ As she sang the ships drifted apart. Wendy, Juvia, and Aquarius, her fellow merchildren were all working hard to get them away from the ship, so she continued to sing with everything that she was, keeping the crew of the ship under her control. As they started to pull away Lyra climbed down from the net onto the railing and walked along it, following the ship, her eyes never leaving it. She walked along the railing until she stood on the bow, watching the ship fall farther and farther behind, until they were far enough away the wind was enough to drown out her voice, and she could see the crew shaking themselves out of their reverie, but it was already too late. By the time that they had completely returned to their senses the _Layla_ had already disappeared into the darkness.

 **~*Subsidence*~**

Gray was the first to speak.

"Wh-what just happened?"

"It seems that they have a siren on their crew," Erza replied, shaking her head experimentally. "And a strong one."

"Dammit!" Natsu shouted. "This was supposed to be it!" He kicked a stray bucket so hard it crumpled, and swore loudly again.

"Calm down Natsu, there will be other opportunities, and we had no way of knowing or defending against a siren of that power."

"Now we've lost them!" Natsu shouted.

"Natsu!" Macao cried, hurrying up on deck, "We're taking on water! We have to find a port or a place to drop anchor to ride out this storm!" Natsu stilled, then turned to Macao, grinning.

"I know the perfect place to go."

"Where is that?" Laxus asked.

"Don't you think that Jude Heartfilia should be the one to protect us from the storm?"

"What?" The crew replied.

 **~*Typhoon*~**

There was silence on deck as everyone stared at Lyra, standing on the ship's railing as the wind whipped her clothes and hair back and forth, her arms spread wide. No one spoke, no one moved. No one had seen the fierce siren that lurked within Lyra's body, the entire crew was in awe. Suddenly Lyra swayed, and began to fall backwards. Loke dashed forward and caught her before she could hit the deck.

"Lyra? Lyra! Can you hear me?"

"She must have expended all of her magical energy!" Lucy said, "take her below deck!" Loke nodded, gathered Lyra up in his arms, and hurried away with her.

Just then, a drop of water hit the deck, then another, and another. Then, the sky split open, and rain poured down on them. Thunder crashed, lightning flashed, and rain thundered down on deck.

"We need to get to the island as soon as possible!" Lucy cried.

The wind started picking up and bashing the ship every direction. The waves tossed them so violently it was difficult to remain standing. Aquarius and Juvia dropped to their knees, Wendy clung to her post for dear life, and Lucy was nearly thrown away from the wheel several times.

"Everyone hang in there!" Lucy screamed, her voice cracking, "We are almost there!" There was another good thirty minutes of fighting the waves, until they finally _finally_ reached the island. Right when Lucy spied it through the wind and rain, Juvia collapsed behind her, and Aquarius was soon to follow. It didn't matter. All Lucy had to do was steer the ship into the hidden bay on the island and they would be protected from the worst of the storm and even if Fairy Tail sailed straight past here they wouldn't see the _Layla._

"Someone fetch Wendy," Lucy said tiredly. Capricorn obliged, carrying the unconscious Wendy over his shoulder. "Drop anchor," she said when they'd reached the bay. Her tired crew obliged. "Now head to shore. There are some caves nearby, someone get Loki and Lyra, and Juvia and Aquarius."

Taurus picked up both Amnis women, and they all filled up the life boats, and headed to shore, where Lucy led them to the caves and they took shelter for the night.

 **~*Onshore Breeze*~**

"See!" Natsu said, pointing at the island they were about to anchor at. "Jude Heartfilia owns this island, and no one lives on it. It's the perfect place to shelter from the storm and spite him at the same time!"

 ***A/N- Whew, I've had this fic inside of me for over a year, and I'm so excited to get it out of me! I so hope you like it, and tell me what you thought about it! The bold divider words are weather terms, by the way, since this series (yes series) is called "The Stormy Seas" I thought it would be cool to use weather terms as my dividers instead of just lots of x's like I normally do.**


	2. Chapter 2

***A/N- So I've had this fic in my head for so long omg you guys don't even know. I've been working on it for longer than I've been working on Bullet Holes but I didn't put out any one shots like I did for Bullet Holes. So, I've just been dying to get this content out here I'm secretly dying.**

Lucy's crew huddled together in their cave, shivering. Though it was summer the storm was blowing in a cold wind, causing all their teeth to chatter. They were soaked to the bone from the rain and huddled together for warmth.

Lucy glanced over to where her unconscious crew members were laying. Lyra was the worst of them all. She'd fallen into the water when the first strike had fallen, then she'd proceeded to expend all of her magical energy. As another particularly cold breeze whistled into the cave and everyone around her shuddered, Lucy got to her feet. She walked over to where the women were lying and unbuttoned her jacket.

Pain lanced up her back as she did it, and Lucy winced. She must have torn open one of the wounds during the battle and not noticed. She slid her jacket off with more care now, and laid it over Lyra's body.

"Lucy!" Levy gasped. "You're bleeding!" _Damn,_ Lucy thought, _I really must have torn open a wound._ Lucy glanced over her shoulder to see her white undershirt stained red with blood. She glanced back down at her jacket, the blood wouldn't have shown up on that dark blue, especially since it was soaking.

"You must have re opened your wounds during the fight," Loke commented, standing up and pulling on the collar of her shirt, trying to assess the damage to her back. Lucy unbuttoned her shirt obligingly and slipped it off her shoulders. She'd long since lost any sense of modesty around her crew.

She winced as Loke touched the tender flesh around one of the wounds. She heard him swear under his breath and began rustling around in his pockets for something. Lucy glanced around at him and saw Levy getting to her feet as well, approaching.

"What's the matter?" She asked.

"There's too much blood to tell which one is bleeding. Here," she handed Loke a handkerchief. "It's not much but it will help." Loke nodded, and the three of them knelt down, all facing the wall, so Loke could better tend to her. Lucy bit her lip as he began wiping away the blood. Loke was careful not to hurt her, however her flesh was still sore and sensitive.

"It's there," Levy pointed out. Lucy turned her hand in an effort to see, but failed.

"We left all the medical supplies on the ship," Loke said, "what should we do?"

"I'll go get them," Jellal volunteered.

"No," Lucy said. "It's not that bad, and it's not infected. Come morning, if I'm careful it might even have closed back up." Lucy and Jellal held eye contact for several seconds when she knew he was considering doing as he pleased anyway, but he sat back down and nodded. Loke glanced between the two of them, then turned back to her. He gently lifted Lucy's shirt back onto her shoulders and scooted back.

"Alright, but you're going to have to lay on your stomach, and try not to move around so much." Lucy nodded and did as he said, folding her arms under her cheek.

"Thank you, Loke, and Levy." They both nodded and scooted their backs against the wall, preparing for a long night.

 **~*Anomalies Departures*~**

There wasn't much shelter on this island, Natsu discovered, as they hid under the trees to shelter from the rain. They might have stayed on the ship, if it hadn't been taking on water. Not to mention it was being thrown around so violently in the storm Natsu feared the _Lisanna_ would break free of her anchor and drift away. His crew huddled closely together under the tarp the Mirajane had thankfully thought to bring along. It wasn't much, but it was better than nothing.

He glanced around in the dark, observing the faces of his crew when the sky lit up with lightning. A few of the younger ones looked afraid, and several of them were sporting minor injuries. He hadn't lost anyone in that fight, thank goodness, but they'd been close. Nab had nearly been thrown overboard when the first canon fell, and Mirajane had been hit in the head by a pot that fell of its hook.

All of them looked miserable as well. He didn't blame them. He'd landed them in a miserable situation, and he couldn't help feeling guilty. Maybe he should have let Heartfilia go for the night and found a safe place for his crew to stay. _But no,_ he thought. She'd shown an unprecedented amount of skills in their fight tonight. He couldn't help but respect that, even grudgingly. But now he knew her even better than she had before. And he knew about her _nereides,_ half mermaid crew members.

"Natsu," Erza said, leaning into his ear so she could be heard over the rain. "We're going to have to be more careful in the future. That siren was strong, she could have killed us all if she'd wanted."

"Which begs the question," Gray said, leaning in, "why didn't she? If she'd killed us then all their problems would go away. There'd be no one left powerful enough to stop them."

"Maybe Heartfilia tried to convince her too, but she wouldn't," Natsu suggested.

"That's possible, but I wouldn't count on it. The crew of the _Layla_ are the most trusted and loyal in the entire Navy. I bet any person on that ship would kill for Lucy Heartfilia, or her father," Erza said, her face set in deep thought.

"Then why wouldn't she have killed us?" Natsu asked.

"It's possible that Heartfilia told her not too," Gray suggested. Natsu rolled his eyes.

"Don't be ridiculous. The Heartfilia's are planning a war against Fiore, a war that will kill thousands of innocent people. I don't think she cares about one ship load of people who are most definitely trying to kill _her._ "

"You're right, Natsu," Erza said. "It doesn't make sense for someone who is willing to help an enemy nation to also be reluctant to kill her enemies."

"Then what could be her reason for sparing us?" Gray asked.

"Maybe it was a warning," Erza said. "A show of power trying to scare us away."

"Maybe," Natsu muttered.

Something definitely didn't add up here.

 **~*Forced Convection*~**

The crew slept poorly that night, and all were relieved when the rain slowed in the early morning hours. Natsu woke up from his snooze to find Erza's foot in his face and Gray snoring loudly in his ear. Natsu rolled his eyes, annoyed, and managed to extricate himself from the dogpile that was his guild without waking anyone. He snuck away from the group and walked through the forest to the beach to check on his ship, silently praying that she was still there.

Natsu broke through the treeline and sighed in relief when he saw his ship still of shore, relatively whole. The _Lisanna_ was, perhaps, sitting a little lower in the water than usual, but she hadn't sank, which meant she could be fixed.

Natsu walked to where they had left the boats they had used to get onshore and inspected them. They were a little worse for wear, but still seaworthy. Natsu would have to get on board and inspect the damage up close to make a more accurate assessment of the damage, of course, but he had to say, it didn't look to be too bad at the moment. The sound of footsteps alerted him to the presence of another person before they stood next to him and spoke.

"I'm a little surprised the _Lisanna_ is still floating." Natsu looked at the speaker, surprised.

"You're not Erza," He said. Mirajane smiled.

"Disappointed?" She asked pleasantly. Natsu shook his head.

"No, just surprised. How are you? Does your head still hurt?"

"Oh you're so sweet, Natsu," Mirajane cooed, pinching his cheek. Natsu grimaced and leaned away. _Why does she always treat me like a child?_ She giggled again at his reaction and dropped her hand, looking out at the ship again. "I'm fine, just a little hit on the head. I've had much worse." Natsu scoffed. "And what's that supposed to mean?" Mira challenged. Natsu felt himself start to sweat nervously.

"Nothing, it's just, head injuries are serious and all." Mira rolled her eye playfully.

"Nice save, Natsu." She paused for a beat before continuing. "How long do you think it will take to make repairs?"

"I don't know," he said honestly. "I'll have to get a good look at the damage to be sure. Hopefully no more than a week. Heartfilia will be long gone by then."

"Perhaps that's not the worst thing. Maybe this Lucy isn't as bad as you think she is."

"How can you say that?" Natsu cried, surprising himself with his sudden volume. Mirajane raised an eyebrow at his tone. Natsu blushed and continued on more quietly. "Ah, sorry. But how can you say that she's not a bad person when you look at who she has as her second command? Or have you forgotten who Fernandez is?"

"I could never forget!" Mirajane snapped, so harshly that Natsu took several steps back. A few tense moments passed in which Natsu thought Mira was going to hit him, but eventually she relaxed. "Of course I haven't forgotten, Natsu," she continued softly, "but that doesn't mean that I'm willing to judge a person I don't even know based on her actions alone. I don't know anything about Lucy, and we only know what Erza has told us about Jellal, which isn't much."

"So you're saying you've forgiven them, forgiven _him?_ " Natsu said, clenching his fists tightly.

"I'm just saying that we don't have the full story," Mirajane said soothingly.

"I don't need the full story. I'm going to kill them both," Natsu growled. "For what they've done."

"And what of Erza?"

"What about her?" Natsu asked.

"You know as much about her past with Jellal as I do."

"You think I should let her kill him? She probably wants too."

Mirajane sighed with a mixture of sadness and exasperation. Sometimes talking to Natsu was like talking to a brick wall. She loved him, and she understood his anger completely, but she also knew that he needed to let go of that anger if he was ever going to heal. Mirajane stared out at the _Lisanna,_ now lost in thought.

A few minutes later Erza emerged from the trees, followed by the rest of the guild. They were all varying degrees of wet, still looking miserable and tired, but they were all ready to work, no doubt.

"Alright," Natsu said. "Ain't nothin to do but deal with the damage, so let's get to it."

 **~*Heiligenschein*~**

"Thank goodness the storm is over!" Levy cried, dancing out into the sunlight and grinning up at the sky. Lucy couldn't help but notice the softened expression that graced the face of Gajeel as he watched her do so. Lucy smirked to herself as Gajeel left the cave after her, trying to act all cool and distant.

 _I see you Gajeel Redfox,_ Lucy thought.

"Come on squirt, quit dancin' we gotta get on the ship and see what damage's been done."

"Hey, how're you feeling?" Loke asked. He extended a hand and helped her too her feet, peering down the back of her shirt to check on her wound. "I'll take another look once we get outside, but I don't know that I can do much. I wish Wendy were awake." Lucy nodded.

"Wendy used up a lot of power last night," Lucy said, "she may be asleep for a while yet. We'll just have to deal. And be sure to get a few tents off the ship so we can get these girls off the ground and out of this cave." Loke nodded and left to do as she asked, leaving Lucy alone with the women.

Lyra was still covered in Lucy's jacket, and now that it was dry she could see the blood stains. _Oh well,_ she thought, _I'll just have to wash them out. I'm afraid this shirt might be ruined though._ Lucy stepped into the mouth of the cave, already hard at work unloading the ship and setting up camp. Lucy had apparently been one of the last to wake up, and when she had the crew was already working. She was a little upset that no one had woken her, she didn't like to rest while her crew worked, but apparently Jellal had forbidden anyone from waking her.

As aggravated as that made her she didn't scold him for it. She knew he was only trying to look out for her, and he was no doubt worried that she would push herself too far. She had been known to do that from time to time.

She watched as Cancer helped Levy set up tents while Taurus carried Old Crux a chair so he could sit. Sleeping in a cave must not have been easy on him. Lucy walked across the beach to where he was sitting, determined to check on him. Every time she moved her back ached, but she grit her teeth and bore it, careful not to let her pain show on her face or one of her crew members would find Jellal or Loke and make her lay down again.

"How are you feeling, Crux?" Lucy asked. "I hope last night wasn't too rough on you."

"It was as rough on me as it was on anyone, I think, but perhaps not as rough as it was on our young ladies over there." Crux indicated where Wendy, Aquarius, Juvia, and Lyra were being carried out of the cave by a few of the boys. "Or you," he added.

"Me?" Lucy repeated, "oh I'm fine."

"Don't lie to me child," Crux scolded. "I've seen grown men go through what you went through and still be unable to move by now. You're pushing yourself too hard." _There it is,_ Lucy thought.

"No really," Lucy said. "I'm fine. You don't have to worry about me." Crux sighed tiredly and turned to face the _Layla._

"It seems our ship made it through the battle."

"I'm glad," Lucy said. "And it's all thanks to our _nereides."_ Lucy said affectionately, glancing over her shoulder at the medic's tent, where they had been left to rest.

"Indeed. I was able to hear Lyra's singing all the way from lower decks."

"It was amazing!" Lucy exclaimed. "Who knew she had that in her? I never realized how powerful she was."

"That wasn't just raw power my dear, that was _skill._ It would seem that Lyra is highly trained in the arts of her people."

"I knew that she'd been raised by her mother for most of her childhood, but I guess I never gave it much thought."

"It would seem we've all been underestimating our dear Lyra," Crux said. Lucy nodded, standing in silent for a few moments longer before leaving crux to his thoughts.

She was actually on her way to the medic tent to check on the girls when Loke's head popped out, he saw her, and beckoned her inside. Lucy rolled her eyes. Loke had a tendency to be overprotective of her, and had ever since the day she'd saved his life.

"Hey, how are the girls?" She asked, indicating the sleeping women on the cots around them.

"Still sleeping," Loke said as he went through the contents of Wendy's medic bag. "Lucy which of these am I supposed to put on your back?" He asked, holding up two bottles of salve. Lucy rolled her eyes again.

"You mean you don't already know? What did you call me in here for, then?"

"I thought you would know! You're the one that always needs the treatment!"

"The wounds are on my _back_ Loke, how am I supposed to see what she's putting on my back?" They made eye contact for five seconds before calling, at the same time, "LEVY!" A few moments later Levy came in, looking alarmed.

"What's the matter?"

"Loke needs your help," Lucy said, unbuttoning her shirt and tossing it on the ground.

"Which of these do I use for Lucy?" He asked, holding up the two bottles.

"Neither," Levy said, and Lucy snorted. She picked up a different bottle and opened it. "It's this one."

Lucy didn't need to be told to lay down on the floor of the tent and pull her hair out of the way, she'd done this enough times in the past to know the procedure. She was also unsurprised when Loke's tone became angry and more harsh. They'd been through this before, too.

"Where the hell is the water to clean the wounds?" He snapped. Lucy heard the rustling of the tent flap that told her Levy had gotten up and left without a word. Lucy sat up and faced him, giving him a stern look. "What?" He asked, and though his tone was much softer than it had been when he addressed Levy, he was obviously still upset. Lucy merely raised her eyebrows at him, and he deflated. "I'm sorry," he said eventually.

"I know you're only trying to help, Loke, but snapping at Levy doesn't do anything for anyone."

"I know," he said. "It just makes me so _angry_ to see you like this. I mean look at what he does to you, his own daughter! What the hell kind of man-"

"The kind that likes his money," Lucy interrupted, "and doesn't like anything to lose him money. You know as well as I do how much the last skirmish with Dragneel cost him." Loke clenched his teeth. He knew this argument would get him nowhere, they'd had it a dozen times before, so he decided to switch tactics.

"Lucy I swore the day you took that beating to save me that I would do everything in my power to protect you, but how am I supposed to do that when the person threatening you is your own father?" Lucy smiled sadly at him.

"Why don't you focus on patching me up after my father hands out his punishment instead?" Loke frowned.

"Dammit Lucy, why won't you just admit you need to escape? Run, get out of here as fast as you can and never look back!"

"You know I can't do that."

"And why not?"

"Who's going to protect the rest of the Navy from my father when I'm gone?"

Loke looked like he was about to say something else, but the tent flap opened back up and Levy stepped in, carrying a bowl of water and a rag. She looked between Lucy and Loke briefly before smiling.

"Good to see you've whipped him back into shape, Lucy," Levy joked.

"Sorry I snapped at you, Levy," Loke said.

"It's no problem. I understand entirely. I hate her father for it too."

Lucy didn't comment, she just laid on her stomach again and allowed her friends to begin cleaning her wound.

"It looks like it's mostly closed," Levy said, "but don't push yourself. I don't want this wound or the others to open again." Lucy nodded. "Now let me bandage this and you can go." Lucy sat up and allowed Loke and Levy bandage her, although it was mostly Levy bandaging and smacking away Loke's hands when he tried to help.

When they were finished Loke helped Lucy to her feet and helped her pull her shirt back on, looking slightly more cheerful now that she had been taken care of. He held open the tent flap for the girls, but Lucy shook her head, saying she was going to sit with the other girls for a moment. Loke nodded and left, leaving Lucy alone with three sleeping women.

Her eyes fell first on Wendy, who looked even younger and more innocent while she slept. Lucy couldn't help but remember the day they had first met.

 _They'd been sailing home from their latest delivery, and stopped in a port for the night to rest. Lucy had been walking alone through the city, trying to clear her head. They'd had another skirmish with Fairy Tail that day, and she just couldn't figure out why that Natsu Dragneel just wouldn't leave her alone. What was his problem?_

 _The sounds of crying that drifted out of a nearby alley stopped her in her tracks. She placed her hand on the hilt of her sword, aware that this could be a trap to lure in good samaritans and rob them. She eased cautiously into the alley, squinting through the gloom to where a young girl sat, curled and crying, behind a trash bin._

" _Hello?" Lucy called gently, doing her best to not alarm the child. If this wasn't a setup then this girl actually needed her help, and Lucy didn't want to scare her away. "Are you alright?"The girl stopped crying and sniffed loudly, looking up from her arms. Her eyes met Lucy's and her face crumpled again._

" _They're all gone!" She cried, the agony in her tone making it clear to Lucy that whoever_ they _were, they had been very dear to the girl._

" _Who's gone?" Lucy asked, approaching the girl slowly, but still scanning her surroundings in case of an attack._

" _My guild! They're all gone! Every last one of them!"_

" _Your guild?" The girl nodded, looking somewhere between shell shocked and heart broken. "What happened?"_

" _I don't know!" She cried, pulling her legs closer to her chest. "It all happened so fast! I heard people shouting, smelled smoke, then Master broke a window and told me to take Carla and run."_

" _Carla? Is there someone else with you?" There was movement at the end of the alley and jumped into a battle ready position, but relaxed when she realized it was only a soot covered cat, with a tattered ribbon tied to her tail. "Is this Carla?" The girl nodded._

 _Lucy thought for a moment before extending her hand to the girl._

" _Hi, my name is Lucy Heartfilia, and I'd like to help you."_

 ***A/N- Alright everybody, I hope you're doing well! I hope you liked this chapter as well! There's not much else to say here other than let me know what you thought about this chapter!**


	3. Chapter 3

* **A/N- Alright everybody I am SO sorry about taking so long on this! If any of you also follow Bullet Holes you may have been expecting this. I just had to take a step back to try and pass high school and get my head back on straight after that shit put me through the ringer. But now as a college student who feels miraculously less like my head is filled with cotton balls infested with fire ants I am able to review this and pick it back up! I can't make any promises on regular updates for this one or the other three, but I can promise to do my best! I love this fic, after all!**

 **Btw, this chapter of this fic is dedicated to tumblr user loveandlucky. For some reason in my mind this fic is associated with her, and I'm not sure how or why that came to pass, I'm not even sure she's read it. But what the heck, why not acknowledge it?**

 _There was smoke and fire everywhere, the sounds of shouting filled the air as Wendy used her power to try and clear the smoke. The flames around her leapt higher, and she squealed in terror, clutching Carla closer to her chest. Swords clanged, people screamed, and somewhere, a madwoman laughed. Wendy crouched low to the floor, feeling Carla squirm and writhe in terror, but Wendy didn't dare let go, knowing if she did the cat would streak off somewhere and she would be left alone, and she didn't want to be alone._

" _Everybo...y ru...its….Ora…..eis!" Wendy couldn't hear what the man was saying through the din, but shrieked suddenly when a large pair of hands picked her up by the shoulders. She kicked and screamed and did her best to bite before she realized who had her._

" _Master!" She wept, face crumpling. "I'm so scared!"_

" _Wendy," he said, coughing. "You have to take Carla and get out of here. Run and don't ever look back, do you hear me?"_

" _Master I don't want to leave you!"_

" _You must! Do as I say! That's an order!" The next thing Wendy knew glass was shattering and she was being thrown through a window into the river. Carla clawed and screamed to be let go and Wendy obliged, following her to the surface for air and riding the current, sobbing, away from her burning guild hall._

Wendy shot upright in bed, dislodging Lucy's hand and the damp rag she'd been dabbing her forehead with.

"Did you have the nightmare again?" Lucy asked quietly, edging closer to Wendy. She nodded, biting back tears. Lucy took her hand gently and lifted herself onto the bed, pulling Wendy closer. "It's alright, don't worry, you're here now. No one can hurt you now." Wendy sniffled and buried her head in Lucy's shoulder, allowing a few tears to slip out of her eyes. They were absorbed into Lucy's shirt as she stroked her hair quietly, making comforting noises in Wendy's ear.

They stayed that way for several minutes before Wendy was able to calm down. Reliving the destruction of her old guild, Cait Shelter, in her dreams was always terrifying for her, yet Lucy always welcomed her with open arms, no matter what time of night, if she needed a hug afterwards. She smiled wetley for Lucy, letting her know she was alright, and Lucy smiled back.

"You did great last night. We really couldn't have done it without you!"

"It was nothing," Wendy said, "I wish I could have done more."

"Nonsense," Lucy replied, "you're still young, and with no training. Dragneel didn't know what hit him!" Wendy chuckled, blushing, glad she could have helped. Her eyes strayed over to the other sleeping women, and another part of last nights battle came rushing to her mind.

"Lyra was amazing! I've never seen anything like it!"

"I know!" Lucy replied in an awed whisper. "It was incredible! All I can say is thank the gods she's on our side or else we'd all be dead."

"...as if I could be on any other side," the siren in question muttered, then rolled back over. "I'm exhausted." Lucy and Wendy giggled, then got silently to their feet and left the tent, allowing the other three to continue to sleep peacefully.

"Oh wow," Wendy said. "Where are we?"

"An uninhabited island my father owns. No one knows about it, really, since he hasn't developed it, and it has this hidden bay which is the perfect place to hide from Dragneel while we make repairs!"

"It's beautiful!" Wendy said, "I can't wait to go exploring!"

"Whoa there Wendy, give yourself a few more days of resting. I don't want you conking out and getting carried away by ants or something."

"Hey, I'm not that small!" Wendy retorted, her cheeks puffing out in anger. Lucy smiled down at her.

"The birds then," she amended. "They would worship you as their god." Wendy chuckled.

"I would always find my way back to you guys," Wendy said, smiling. Lucy felt her heart soften. She really loved this child.

Lucy glanced back out at the _Layla_ and sighed. It could be worse, but they'd taken damage, and it would likely take several days before her vessel was seaworthy again. She cast her eyes around, looking for the nearest person who would be able to give her an official prognosis on her ship. Gajeel was about ten feet away, carrying a pile of tents up to the grassy area near the forest to start setting up camp.

"Gajeel!" Lucy called, getting his attention. She jogged over to him, wincing as the sudden motion jarred her wounds. "What's it like on the ship?" She asked. "How long will repairs take?"

"About four or five days, from what I've seen," he replied, dropping the tents on the ground for someone else to deal with. "But I haven't been down to the lower decks, I just grabbed the tents so people could start setting up camp."

"I'll go back with you to start assessing the damage," Lucy said, and Gajeel nodded. "Wendy if you're feeling up to it you can start setting up camp, but don't push yourself!"

"I'm on it!" Wendy replied. "And I'll only do that if you promise the same! You're still hurt, don't make it worse!"

"I promise," Lucy said. Wendy grinned and skipped past them to the tents Gajeel had thrown down.

"I don't know how in the hell that kid has all that energy after everything she did last night," Gajeel said as they walked away.

"I think she's putting on a brave face. She had the nightmare again." Gajeel grimaced. Almost everyone on deck knew about Wendy's nightmares. It was hard to not after the first few times she woke up screaming. No one mentioned it to her though, they all were in agreement that it would be wrong to bring up something so traumatic if she didn't bring it up first.

They boarded a rowboat with a few others and paddled out to the ship. As they got closer the damage became clearer, and Lucy was struck with a mixture of dread and relief. It wasn't as bad as it had been last time, but they would still be anchored for several days, days that would make them late for their delivery, and Father was already angry with her. She climbed the rope ladder onto the ship first and stood watching everyone work for a while, deep in thought. It _might_ be possible to still make it. She _had_ planned a few extra days in case she'd had to make evasive maneuvers to avoid Dragneel, but they would be cutting it close.

A horrendous yowl broke her out of her reverie, and she walked, befuddled, to her office and opened the door. A streak of white with a splash of pink streaked past her and up the mast to the crows nest. Carla, no doubt looking for Wendy. Plue came after her, though he instead just ran in circles around Lucy's feet, and jumped up and down, asking to be picked up. She obliged her little dog, and had to shove his face away when he attempted to lick all over her face.

"Hey, hey, enough, enough, I'm alright," Lucy laughed, setting him back down so he could run and play. She looked to her right, inside her office and groaned. The ship tossing in the storm had displaced and broken many things, so she set about putting it right. She had just set up the second chair in front of her desk when Loke walked in.

"Yikes," he commented, looking at the books and other items strewn across the floor. "It looks pretty rough in here, Lucy." He added, pointing to it.

"Indeed," she sighed, picking up one of her encyclopedias and placing it back on the shelf after smoothing the bent pages. Loke stooped down and picked up her compass, passing it to her merrily, like he was presenting her with the key to the city.

"Here you go!"

"Thank you so much," she replied idly, inspecting it for cracks, happy when she found none.

"So the ships pretty bad," he said, "but I've also seen it worse. There's a lot of damage, but it seems to be superficial damage. She took on some water in the hold," he held up his hand when Lucy started, "but none of the merchandise was damaged."

"Oh thank the gods," Lucy said. Loke nodded.

"It should only be a few days. I would hesitate to sail before all the repairs are complete, but if we really have to to make the order on time, the small repairs can wait."

"No, no, you're right. We have some time, I scheduled some extra just in case something like this happened, so repair as much as you can yourselves."

"You got it," Loke replied. "Do you need any help in here?" He asked. Lucy shook her head.

"No, you go take care of the rest, I'll handle my office." He ducked out and Lucy continued to clean, setting her things back up the way they went, and checking to be sure that the important documents remained in tact. She bent over to pick up another encyclopedia, groaning at the way it stretched the skin on her back when another voice startled her.

"You groan like an old person with aching joints."

"Capricorn!" Lucy replied warmly, smiling as he ducked into the office. He was several inches too tall to fit under the door frame. "Is there something you need?"

"I came only to ask after your health, and see if perhaps you'd like some tea."

"I'm fine," Lucy reassured him, "and I'd rather just keep working, I'll take a break later."

"Alright," he said, "but don't over-exert yourself."

"I won't," Lucy said, smiling. As soon as she was gone she sighed heavily and leaned her hip against the desk. _These people are exhausting,_ she thought. She had to keep reminding her that they worried not because they thought she was a child, but because they loved her. It would be hard not to worry after what they'd seen, even though it had happened before. Lucy knew they were all haunted by the fact it would happen again.

If she'd watched what happened to her happen to one of them she was sure she'd be the same. Even though Wendy still wasn't allowed to watch, she'd seen the after effects, being the ship medic, and Lucy didn't like the look in her eyes when she first began treating Lucy's wounds. So, Lucy tried to be patient with her crew, even though she really was fine, because they were worried, and they had every right to be. It was still exhausting to constantly be told to be careful and to constantly reassure everyone she knew that she was fine. After a few second she started cleaning again, and by the time the others were breaking for lunch she had cleaned a good chunk of the office.

 **~*Isotherm*~**

"Oh damn," Natsu muttered, looking at the holes in the _Lisanna_ 's side. "This is going to take at least a week to repair."

"I agree," Erza said, "so we might as well start now and get to work. We've no hope of catching Heartfilia before she delivers those goods."

"Damn!" Natsu shouted, kicking a splintered piece of wood.

"Relax, Natsu," Gray said. "They'll be other shipments."

"Besides," Wakaba said, helping Macao carry a box of food up from the flooded stores, "we'll need the time to figure out how to deal with that siren they've got."

"If there is any dealing with it," Macao added.

"I've never felt anything like it," Cana said, stopping next to their group. "It was like drinking a hundred barrels of whiskey."

"Only a hundred?" Gray asked sarcastically.

"Shut it, Gray, you know what I mean."

"Wakaba is right," Laxus added, coming in from nowhere. "We'll never be able to do anything if we can't find a way to resist that siren, and somehow I doubt it'll be as easy as jamming our fingers in our ears." He slipped away again, and with that everyone seemed to think the conversation was over and went on their own ways to deal with the damage to the _Lisanna._ Natsu's office was a mess. Most people would say it always was, but he could _tell_ the difference, so he set about moving things into their proper place.

"It looks like the storm left your office completely untouched," Mirajane giggled standing in the door.

"Haha, very funny Mirajane," Natsu said, tossing a book from one end of the room to another.

"You know Gray said that he could use some help downstairs," She said.

"Like hell he did."

"I think you had better go check and see," Mira insisted smiling sweetly. "I'll stay up here and clean your office."

"No thanks," Natsu said, throwing something else across the room. Mirajane marched in the room and grabbed him by the shoulders, marching him out of the room by force.

"Now you don't worry about this mess," Mira said, "you just go handle the repairs and I'll clean this up." Natsu grimaced.

"I'm not getting a choice here am I?"

"Nope!" She smiled, then slammed the door behind him. _Does it really bother her that bad?_ Natsu wondered as he walked down the steps to the hold. _I know she;s been buggin' me to clean it up for ages, but geeze._ When Natsu reached the bottom of the stairs to where everyone was sloshing through ankle deep water Erza called out to him.

"Natsu, I thought you would be cleaning your office."

"Mira kicked me out," he said, shrugging. Laughter echoed throughout the room.

"It's about time that place got a good cleaning," Gray said, "it was filthy."

"Shut up, Ice brain."

They worked until lunch moving things from the flooded hold to higher decks, then sat around and ate lunch on the sandy shore. Even Natsu had to admit that this was a beautiful island. He might go exploring some time, if he got the chance. It didn't seem to terribly big, but also not small. Mirajane did not emerge from his office for lunch, and still refused to let him in. He shuddered to think what she was doing to his system of organization, but he didn't dare refuse her. That would not work out well for him.

A couple hours, a few brawls, and a food fight later, and everyone was feeling tired and lazy, but Erza insisted they all go and begin to bail water, or the Lisanna might be sunk completely by tomorrow morning. No one dared contradict Erza when she decided on something, so they all boarded the rowboats and some buckets and set to work bailing water. They had most of it out by sundown, and the lowering water level in the hold revealed another small leak no one had noticed, so Erza was right. They made a quick repair to that hole, and then loaded up their camping gear and went back on shore, setting up camp for the night so they didn't have to sleep in the forest again. _No one_ was eager to repeat that experience. When they left for the night Mirajane left with them, but still refused to let anyone, even Natsu, peak their heads inside his office and look at what she'd been doing. He'd resigned himself to a clean office and never being able to find anything.

X

It was morning, and Fairy Tail was already hard at work, at least, as hard at work as Fairy Tail could be. There was still a good deal of slacking off and brawling, but there was still work getting done, so Natsu wasn't upset. Mostly because three of the brawls so far had involved him. Everyone knew, though Natsu was loathe to admit it, that Lucy Heartfilia and they _Layla_ were long gone, and they wouldn't catch up to her on this trip, so there was no point in hurrying. Because of this Natsu was in a rather foul mood all morning, which attributed to his brawling.

"Is there any sense of what Heartfilia might be doing?" Erza asked, holding him up by the collar of his shirt after breaking up his second fight with Gray that morning.

"No," he huffed. "Nothin'. It's weird."

"Maybe that siren muddled your tiny brain," Gray said. Natsu reached out to grab them, but Erza pushed them farther apart.

" _Enough,_ " Erza snapped. They both stopped squirming and looked at her with wide eyes.

"Yes ma'am."

"That is strange though," she said, dropping the both of them on their asses and tapping her chin thoughtfully. "Maybe she's stopped to take a break as well?"

"I dunno. She's not planning anything."

"Maybe we landed a few more hits on the _Layla_ then we thought we did and they sunk?" Gray suggested, climbing to his feet. Natsu remained seated, still thinking.

"I don't think so," Natsu said. "We would have noticed a shipwreck, and rubble probably would have washed up on shore. Not to mention it _feels_ like she's still alive." Gray and Erza nodded.

"Well when she starts planning something again, you'll know. So, until then we might as well work on the ship. And _no more fighting._ " She added sternly. Natsu and Gray nodded, and she walked away, issuing a few orders to people standing around doing nothing.

"Remind me again why she's captain and you're not," Gray teased.

"Shut up, Ice Queen," Natsu grumbled, getting to his feet.

"I'm finished!" Mirajane exclaimed suddenly, flinging the doors to Natsu's office open wide. "Natsu, your office is finally clean!"

"Gee, thanks Mirajane," he sighed.

He stepped into his office, followed by several curious bystanders, his ears filled with their awed comments.

"Wow, Mirajane," Wakaba said, "it's almost like an entirely different room."

"Yeah we never thought we'd see Natsu's office looking this clean." Macao continued.

"I honestly feel sorry that you even had to lean it," Cana said, taking a swig from her flask. "It couldn't have been easy."

"Yeah, Natsu's a real slob," Laxus said, looking around the room, impressed.

"You could be neater, Natsu," Freed added, coming up to Laxus's shoulder.

"Leave Natsu alone in here for two minutes and it'll be ruined," Gray commented. After a round of affirmations from the crowd Natsu lost his temper.

"HOW COME EVERYONE IS TAKIN' A SHOT AT ME?!" The crew assembled in his office laughed together. "ALL'A'YA NEED TO GET BACK TO WORK AND QUIT BEIN' MEAN TO ME!" The crowd roared with laughter again and dispersed.

"Now Natsu this clean had better last," Mirajane warned. She left his office and went below decks, probably to check out the state of the kitchens.

Natsu sighed heavily and thudded down into one of the chairs, looking around defeatedly. He'd have to spend the day going through everything without displacing it so he'd know where to find everything. An indignant meow sounded as Happy slid into the room and looked around.

"I know buddy, I know," Natsu replied. "But Mira insisted." Happy meowed sagely and hopped up onto the desk and curled up to sleep. "Hey you lazy bum! Get off your ass and do something! Where've you been all day anyway, probably asleep!" Happy sighed heavily and ignored him. Natsu got up and began opening drawers, grumbling under his breath about lazy cats.

 **~*Geostrophic Wind*~**

Lucy's crew was hard at work all day the next day, they had a deadline to reach and all of them were desperate to avoid the consequences Lucy would suffer if they were late. The tables were turned now, with Lucy insisting that everyone not push themselves too far and to take breaks and all of them insisting they were fine. A part of her was telling herself it was about time she got a taste of her own medicine, ignoring reason and working when she knew she shouldn't be, and she made up her mind to treat everyone tomorrow with a surprise.

There were perks to being the only one on the ship who had visited this island before, and she'd carefully chosen not to tell her father about this island's main attraction when she'd surveyed it the first time. When she'd done it she'd known she was taking a huge risk for a potentially minor pay off, but she was also fairly certain that her father would neither sell the island nor ever visit it. Besides, if he ever found out she could always make up some buyable excuse for why she hadn't noticed it. Lucy grinned to herself as she tied off ropes and repaired the ship's wheel. This was going to be a good surprise.

Everyone took lunch at different times, and Lucy ended up taking hers with the newly awakened Juvia, who was sitting in the shallow water near the shore. She said being in the water helped her regain energy faster, so Lucy sat next to her, holding her food up so the water wouldn't touch it.

"You and Aquarius were amazing last night!" Lucy said. "I'm sorry for pushing you so hard."

"It's no problem, Lucy," Juvia smiled. "If you hadn't we likely would have been captured or killed. You didn't have a choice." Lucy was silent, knowing she was right. She still didn't like pushing her people so hard, though.

"Wendy was impressive as well. I wasn't paying much attention but from what I understand we all owe Lyra and Wendy a lot." Lucy nodded.

"You all were incredible," Lucy said, hiding her wince as the salt water splashed up onto her back.

"How's your back, Lucy," Juvia asked, not fooled.

"It's a lot better. One of my wounds tore open during the fight so I've been trying to take it easy so no one will worry, but it would seem everyone is working extra hard to pick up my slack." Lucy sighed. Poor Aries had been working herself ragged, and looking like she was on the verge of tears the entire time. Then again, Lucy knew why he was working extra hard, even though she wished she wouldn't. She knew Loke was keeping an eye on her, however, so if she pushed herself too hard he would be there.

"I wouldn't worry about them, they just want you to be alright."

"I know," Lucy said. "I just don't want anyone to over work themselves."

"Like Aries?"

"Like Aries." They were silent for a few moments, in which Lucy watched Scorpio carry Aquarius into the water, she'd obviously had the same idea as Juvia. He walked in much deeper than either of them had and sat down with Aquarius in his lap so they were both neck deep in water. Lucy looked away, not eager to find out what was coming next. Those two had a bad habit of being overly-affectionate in public. Juvia either didn't notice them or was just ignoring them.

"I'm sure Loke will look after her," Juvia said, voicing Lucy's own thoughts.

"I was thinking," Lucy started, "can you keep a secret?" Juvia looked at her strangely and nodded.

"I've got a surprise in store for the rest of the guild, but I need to check it out to be sure before we get there, are you up for the hike?" In loo of answering Juvia splashed back into the water, submerging herself completely, and then sitting back up.

"I think I'm good." Lucy chuckled and stood, helping Juvia to her feet. "Alright, let's go."

They hiked for about thirty minutes, Lucy making sure to take frequent breaks to allow Juvia to rest. When they arrived Lucy cracked a relieved smile, glad to see everything was as she remembered it.

"Lucy," Juvia smiled, grinning, "this is brilliant."

 ***A/N- I'm so sorry! I know this took forever! I hope you liked it!**


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